Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of calendar data exchange technologies.
Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification (iCalendar) is a standard for calendar data exchange, which is defined by Request for Comments (RFC) 2445 of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). This standard permits the exchange of meetings times, to-do entries, and other data among compliant applications. ICalendar data is typically exchanged using traditional email programs; however the standard is designed to be independent of any transport protocol. Currently, Web servers exist that distribute iCalendar data about an event and publish these event times to a group of interested people. Further, iCalendar data is presently being embedded in Web pages, typically using hCalendar, which is a microformat representation of iCalendar in semantic (X)HTML. Generally, users are able to publish and subscribe to iCalendar data.
A syndication feed, such as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) or an ATOM feed, are used to provide items containing short descriptions of Web content together with a link to a full version of the content. Syndication feeds are used to publish frequently updated content, such as BLOG entries, news headlines, or podcasts. Feed content can be read using a feed reader or an aggregator. That is, users subscribe to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader. The reader regularly checks subscribed feeds for new content and downloads any new content related to these feeds.
At present, syndication feeds and iCalendar data are disparate and incompatible mechanisms through which users can acquire time linked information. No current program or mechanism exists for binding syndication feeds to iCalendar entries.